AS the day for the local elections draws near, political parties in Woking are canvassing and asking voters about the real issues that matter to them.

The Woking News & Mail spoke to the election agents and chairmen of the five main parties in the borough to discover what their main aims are and what they would do if they took control of the county council.

Rob Burberry, chairman of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) , said that road maintenance was a big issue along with looking into county councillors’ expenses .

He said: “In terms of roads, Surrey County Council is not going to invest in any major road repairs in the Woking area in the next year. It is absolutely disgraceful that Woking is not getting any.

“We would like to ensure that major work on road repairs is done in Woking every year. Walton Road in Maybury is in need of urgent work. We want to give value to the people.

“We want power for people to demand a local referendum. I also want county councillors’ expenses looked into. I am quite serious about that.”

“We want to protect and improve our environment while ensuring all Surrey’s residents enjoy excellent services. It is disgraceful that Surrey’s children’s services were judged inadequate, and Surrey is a one-star authority overall.

“We also want to see the county council giving value for money in everything that it does.

“In the last 12 years of Conservative control, badly managed contracts have led to botched or incomplete work.

“Stop-start recruitment and ineffective workforce planning mean vital posts can’t be filled and have to be covered by agency staff.”

Mrs McCrum said that other Lib Dem priorities were to repair roads and pavements and to provide more activities for young people.

Andrew Povey, leader of the Conservative group for Surrey County Council, said that protecting the green belt and road safety were two of his main aims.

He said: “The key priorities are obviously keeping council tax down. At the moment everybody is suffering with the economic climate.

“Environment is also a key priority. We do have a fantastic amount of green space in Surrey and other parties want to build on it, but we want to preserve the green belt.

“ Surrey schools are some of the best in the country and we want to make sure we maintain that.

“With road maintenance we have got to fight to get a bigger share of resources back from the government.”

Elizabeth Evans, election agent and chairman for Labour in Woking, said the party wanted the county council to stop blaming central government for its problems.

Labour is also calling for extra resources for schools which are struggling.

Ms Evans said: “The priority for us is to win back the seats we lost in 2007. We want to pressure the Tory county council to stop blaming the government when their residents feel the pinch during the next year for what is their own appalling one-star running.

“Labour costs you less. The average council tax for this year is £1,297 for Tories, £1,227 for Liberal Democrats and £1,093 for Labour.

“We will push for extra resources for schools that struggle, especially for literacy, and for pay schemes that encourage the best teachers to teach in the schools.”

Geoff Pay, election agent for The Peace Party , said: “We are about peace and justice and non-violence. We are against all war.

“Other parties are against some wars but not all. We believe in jaw not war. We are 100% peace.”

In Woking, The Peace Party wants to ensure that places and organised activities are provided for young people to gather so that they are not hanging around on the streets, plus improving access for disabled people.

For a full list of county council elections candidates in Woking, click here .